BlackWolf, DarkMaiden
by ladydolce
Summary: In 1916 London, a young woman falls victim to a despairing curse.


Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

An Azureshipping FanFic.

Black Wolf/Dark Maiden.

_It came again, the nightmare. There's blood everywhere, my hands soaked, fingernails stained. A scream is building inside, tearing my throat apart. He's watching me. Golden eyes, fierce and brilliant. His gaze never strays from mine, even as he rips a man to pieces. I'm terrified of him, this black beast with its razor teeth and sharp eyes. _

_He won't hurt me. He won't._

_This is what I tell myself, over and over. I keep these foolish words close to my heart despite the bitter knowledge that I am wrong. I am fearful of not what he might do, but of the sickening part of me that yearns for it. _

_I don't close my eyes when he draws near. The sight is too amazing. His fangs dipped in rich scarlet, the scent of death seeped into all that glorious fur. And there's something almost human in those golden eyes. It makes me smile. _

_Finally, I let my eyes close. If death is to befall me, I am happy to accept it. This brings me comfort and lessens the violent bite of his teeth piercing my skin. The scream finally forces its way out, and tears burn my eyes. I count the seconds as my body is sliced to ribbons. _

_Twenty-three. _

_It was all the time I had left until I felt myself slip away._

_I died that night, in a filthy alley overrun with whores and beggars. And yet, somehow, I'm still breathing. A miracle? I laugh at the absurdity. For I have no soul, only flesh, blood, and an appetite that belongs to a beast. I have no friends, no family. They'd have died by this time. I only have he. Only—_

"Anzu."

There's a voice that calls to me, almost sweetly with an accent of the old. I imagine he's standing behind me. A face so glorious God wept when he created it.

"Seto." I breathed his name easily, none of the resentment I feel escapes. The quiet grows. How long did I sit there, numb with a pen in my hand, a journal on my lap? Yet he spoke not another word to me. And though his presence was a heavy weight on my mind, I couldn't ask him to leave. He'd have snapped off my arm for the lack of respect.

Outside the moon smiles at me. She's beautiful. I've been under her influence for ninety-five years; her son is my creator, my master. I despise him.

"I could murder you for what you did to me." I hear myself say, the words drenched in heat and sorrow. "There are times when I dream of it. Your death."

"As you did tonight?"

"No. Tonight I had a nightmare. A fierce one that left me in a cold sweat."

"I see." He speaks coolly, quietly. His manner is haughty and often aloof.

My smile is bitter.

"I dreamt of our first meeting. Everything was vivid—the smells, the sights, the sounds. I was trapped and desperate to escape." My feet led me to him. "I was broken and terrified."

He angled his head. Dark hair fell across one golden eye. "Were you? It must have been unpleasant. Anzu," he continued. "why does it bring you such misery? I gave you life when death was upon you."

"You gave me madness! You stripped me of my humanity, ripped out my soul, and made me a monster."

"And you will never forgive me nor will you let me forget."

"My own form of revenge. Seto. I've tasted human flesh, slaughtered innocent men."

"And?" he interrupted, his drawl alight with amusement. Such pleasure crossed his face as he witnessed my vehemence.

"And I've done it without remorse! I enjoyed it. What am I but a beast without compassion?"

A shadow crossed his face, some dark memory that seemed to strangled him.

I couldn't tear my eyes away.

"In fear, humans have hunted our kind for centuries. They dismember us, burn our bodies," his voice was ripe with condemnation, eyes blazing gold. "with not a drop of compassion. They kill, beat and rape their own. So who are the real monsters, Anzu? Us or them?"

I'm afraid to answer. I was once human. I was once as flawed as they. My lips tremble as I struggle to speak, but there's not a sound when I open my mouth.

Doubt has been seeded in my heart, and I reflect on that night ninety-five years ago.

I was one and twenty, with the hopes and dreams of a young woman. I loved to bake, to create sweets for the children in my town. I'd been engaged. His name escapes me now, it's been so long.

I was walking home one evening, the streets deserted, the streetlamps' dull light illuminating my path. I was being stalked—by three men and a lone wolf.

There are some gaps in my memory, but I remember running, petrified and pale. I was beaten in an alley, my cries for help ignored by the vagrants who rolled over and continued to sleep. I was in agony. I didn't expect to be rescued. And yet, I was.

Someone heard my pleas. And fright gave way to fascination as he stepped onto my path. This big, snarling wolf, so beautiful and dangerous. Seto saved me. He shared with me his lifestyle.

I've never asked him the reason, nor do I desire to know. I'd rather believe he was lonely. Maybe even sad. These things I dare not say aloud. It would embarrass us both.

"You are right." I feel very small when I admit this. "It is they who prey on the weak and helpless. I'd forgotten how cruel they could be. And what they did to me."

He smiles. "That was well said."

The moment is awkward. I have hated this man since I realized his true nature. I have wished the foulest death on him. It shames me so.

"Seto."

"Anzu."

It is the laughter in his voice that stuns me. I wait in silence for his next move. He soon leaves the room and I discover that my knees have gone weak. I sink to the floor. Forgiveness is something I cannot grant him. There is much unpleasantness between us.

Yet.

I've come to realize that I mustn't cling to the past. I am a wolf; I am not human. I haven't been for ninety-five years. This is acceptance.

I glance at the moon as she emerges from the clouds. And through my golden eyes I see the future. One that doesn't bring us great unhappiness, but instead, tremendous hope.

The End


End file.
